Detachable staging stanchions



April 19, 1955 D. N. BROWN 2,706,662

DETACHABLE STAGING STANCHIONS Filed Aug, '20, 1952 INVEN'I'OR DOYE-S N.BROWN ATTORW United States Patent DETACHABLE STAGING STANCHIONS Doyes N. Brown, Vallejo, Calif.

Application August 20, 1952, Serial No. 305,522

4 Claims. (Cl.,30432) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) This invention relates to braced supporting members and, more specifically to supports adapted for securing scaffold life lines.

This invention may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Many types of scaffolding and the like utilize life lines or guard rails for the convenience and safety of workmen and, when such lines are used, it of course is necessary to string them on vertical supporting members or standards that are sufficiently strong to withstand at least the weight of workmen falling or leaning against them. To insure an adequate safety factor, it has been common to provide extensive bracing for these life line standards and such bracing not only has been expensive and time-consuming to construct, but also it occupies considerable space and adds to the over-all weight of the scaffolding. Further, most of the scaffolding used in smaller jobs is constructed at the location where they are to be used, and the life line supporting members for such scaffolding normally are madeup from v heavy planking which is braced by additional planking, the whole assembled unit, after it has served its purpose, customarily being broken down and discarded. In previous prefabricated scaffolding such life line supporting members sometimes are provided but even these supports have used much expensive and unnecessary bracing.

It is, therefore, an object of this present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and reliable unit for supporting scaffold life lines, guard rails or the like, which unit can be easily and quickly attached or to detached from most any conventional prefabricated or constructed scaffold platform.

A related object is to provide a detachable unit which reduces to a minimum the need for reinforcing braces and which is sufficiently light and portable to be easily transported to the job and mounted in operative position by one or two workmen.

A more specific object is to provide means for clamping life line supporting member to a platform in such a way that the clamp itself provides adequate and safe bracing and, at the same time, reduces the space normally occupied by such bracing.

In accordance with these objects the unit provided is formed basically of a resilient strip of metal, preferably bar stock, that is secured near one of its end portions to an upright adapted for holding a life line, or the like; the other end portion of the strip being formed into a horizontally extending leg of sufficient length to project in under the platform a substantial distance, and, as may be expected, the horizontal leg portion is spaced from the upright a sufficient distance to receive therebetween an edge portion of the scaffold platform: The strip clamps the upright to the platform and for this purpose, rigid means, such as a threaded bolt, projects through the upper and lower extents of the strip, the bolt mounting a nut that, when tightened, draws the horizontal leg of the strip upwardly with the clamping engagement with the platform.

Most suitably, the strip is secured at two verticallyspaced spots to the upright, and it extends in a C-shape from its upper point of attachment to its horizontal leg portion. Also, the strip is bent outwardly into a lateral flange at its lower point of attachment and the flange is formed with an opening through which the clamping bolt also extends in a slidable manner. The bolt is used for the double purpose of effecting the clamping engagement of acting as a brace to reinforce the support provided by the C-shaped strip. This flange on the strip is functional in assisting this bracing action, since it forms a reinforcing member for centrally strengthening the bolt and thereby minimizes the tendency of the bolt to buckle or bend under the influence of lateral force.

It further may be found desirable to provide a supplemental clamp for the extreme end of the horizontal leg portion of the strip, and this may be formed by a simple bolt and nut combination extending downwardly through the planking of the scaffold platform.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing of which Fig. l is a perspective view of a life line supporting unit secured to a scaffold platform, and Fig. 2 a partiallysectioned side elevation of the unit and the platform.

Referring to the drawings, each life line supporting unit is formed of a standard, or upright 1 provided centrally and at its top with inwardly projecting eyelets 2 formed to receive life line 3, while the bottom end of the upright is provided with a flat base 4 adapted to rest on the upper surface of the scaffold platform, which, as shown, is formed of a plurality of planks 6.

When operatively positioned, each of these uprights rests in a spaced relationship on the planks and they each are securely supported in their upright position by means of a resilient clamping mechanism, generally indicated by numeral 7. As may be seen, this clamping mechanism includes a resilient metal strip formed of an elongate, horizontally-extending portion or leg 8 adapted to project transversely of and beneath the platform, this leg merging into an arcuate, C-shaped mediate portion 9 the upper end of which is bent downwardly at right angles to form a vertical leg 11 which again is bent outwardly at right angles into a lateral flanged portion 12. Flange portion 12, as shown, is spaced vertically from horizontal leg 8 a sufficient distance to receive the edge portion of the platform planks, so that, in effect, clamping jaws are formed between which the platform is inserted and secured. Preferably, horizontal leg 8 is sprung outwardly, or away from the the horizontal plane of the platform, a slight distance to facilitate fitting this clamp onto the platform planks, as Well as its removal.

To create the clamping pressure and secure the unit to the platform, resilient strip, or clamp 7, is formed to receive a sturdy carriage bolt 16, and the particular manner in which this bolt performs its work is another feature of the invention that adds to the ultimate strength of the unit, as well as reduces the necessity for reinforcing braces. As shown in the drawings, bolt 16 is headed and formed with a shank 17 that extends through openings provided in the upper and lower extents of resilient C-clamp 7, as well as through an opening that is provided in outwardly-extending lateral flange 12. The portions of the shank received in the strip openings are squared against rotation, while the lower end of the shank is threaded to receive a nut 18 that is formed with a radially extending handle portion 19. The clamping action, of course, is effected by rotating nut 19 to draw the upper and lower extents of the C-clamp together, or more specifically, to press horizontal leg 8 upwardly into tight engagement with the platform along its full extent. With the life-line supporting unit so clamped to the platform, the strength of the unit is sufficient to provide adequate resistance to and security against ordinary lateral forces acting on such lines. Such lateral forces will be transmitted through the resilient strip to nut 18 and through the nut to the horizontal extent of the strip which distributes these forces along the platform. Nut 18 also lies directly beneath upright 1 and this arrangement further strengthens the unit.

However, an important factor to be noted is that bolt 16 also is used to reinforce upright 1 and resist any bending movements exerted on this upright. Thus, as may be seen, bolt 16 extends parallel and in rather close relationship to upright 1. Further, the portion Patented Apr. 19, 1955.

lying parallel to the upright is tightly bound to the upright through vertical leg 11 of the resilient strip, so that bending movements on the upright are transmitted to the bolt and through the bolt into the resilient strip and into the platform. In addition, the bolt itself is braced against bending movements since it is centrally supported by lateral flange 12 of the resilient strip, and this central bracing of the bolt also materially adds to the overall strength. As a result bolt 16 not only provides the clamping force desired, but it further very substantially increases the rigidity of the unit and provides an ample safety margin without requiring resort to the conventional bulky and expensive V-braces or cross-braces.

A further feature of the invention lies in the use of a supplemental clamp 21 which provides additional stability by forcefully clamping the outer, free end of horizontal leg 8 to the platform. Clamp 21, as may be seen, is formed simply of a head 22, a shank 23 adapted to pass between adjacent planks of the platform and through an elongate slot 24 provided in horizontal leg 8. A nut 26, similar to nut 18, may be used to provide the clamping force. Such a supplemental clamp is quite advantageous in that it not only increases the strength of the unit but also it provides assurances against any loosening of the engagement of the main clamp through platform vibrations and other disturbances.

The unit provided has ample strength and rigidity for complete safety, and, in addition, it has the advantage of being light, portable and easily and quickly applied to or removed from platforms of various thicknesses. The fact that horizontal leg 8 is sprung to an open po sition facilitates both the application and removal, as well as increases the strength. Added to these benefits also is the fact that the various parts or elements are capable of being fabricated with a minimum of expense so that the utility of the unit is increased by its economy.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

I claim:

1. A detachable stanchion comprising an upright adapted to rest on an edge portion of an elevated platform, a resilient clamping strip having a vertical leg portion extending downwardly along and secured to the lower vertical portion of said upright and having its free end extending horizontally beneath the upright 21 spaced distance for receiving said platform, the lower portion of said secured end being projected outwardly to form a lateral flange, and means extending through both said horizontal end, said lateral flange and the upper portion of said strip for drawing said horizontal end portion into clamping engagement with a platform disposed between said upright and said portion.

2. A detachable stanchion comprising an upright adapted to rest on an edge portion of an elevated platform, a resilient clamping strip fixed at two vertically spaced points to said upright and having a free end extending horizontally beneath the upright a spaced distance suflicient for receiving said platform, said strip being projected outwardly from its lower fixed point to form a lateral flange, and rigid means extending through said flange and through upper and lower intermediate portions of said strip for drawing the horizontal extent of the strip into clamping engagement with a platform disposed between said horizontal portion and said upright.

3. A detachable stanchion comprising an upright adapted to rest on an edge portion of an elevated platform, a resilient integral C-clamp having a vertical leg portion fixed at two vertically spaced points to said upright and having a free end extending horizontally beneath the upright a spaced distance sufficient for receiving said platform, said vertical leg portion being projected outwardly from its lower fixed point to form a lateral flange, and rigid means extending through the flange and through upper and lower intermediate portions of said C-clarnp for drawing the horizontal extent of the clamp into clamping engagement with a platform disposed between said horizontal portion and said upright.

4. A detachable stanchion comprising an upright adapted to rest on an edge portion of an elevated platform, a resilient C-clamp having a vertical leg portion fixed at two vertically spaced points to said upright and a free end extending horizontally beneath the upright a spaced distance sufficient for receiving said platform, rigid means extending in parallelism with said vertical leg portion for drawing the horizontal portion of the clamp into clamping engagement with a platform disposed between said horizontal portion and said upright, and supplemental means for clamping the end of the horizontal extent of the strip to the platform, the lower end of said vertical leg portion being projected outwardly to form a lateral flange medial of said strip and said rigid means also extending through said lateral flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 395,035 Conner Dec. 25, 1888 454,700 Barker June 23, 1891 636,257 Gibbon et al. Nov. 7, 1899 956,705 Hofacker May 3, 1910 1,116,459 McDonald Nov. 10, 1914 1,315,852 Mitchell Sept. 9, 1919 1,535,779 Johnston Apr. 28, 1925 1,890,743 Murphy et al. Dec. 13, 1932 2,258,735 Brancheau Oct. 14, 1941 2,522,255 Climo Sept. 12, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,400 Netherlands Dec. 15, 1921 2,516 Great Britain 1902 15,900 Australia Jan. 18, 1934 446,684 Germany Nov. 24, 1926 

